As Asura was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and took out an orchid spiritual plant from his spiritual space. He handed it over to Su Lin.
Before Su Lin could refuse his kind intention, he said:
"Su Lin, I have already used a little more than half of this plant. Although it can help me break through into the second stage of the spiritual realm, after that I will have to depend on my own cultivation.
From our spar, I realized that this plant greatly helped me reach the spiritual realm and my foundation is still as solid as before but it makes my battle efficiency lower. I can't tell if I will be undefeatable once I'm in the same realm. I mean, look right now I almost got defeated by you in just a spar, if it was a real fight, I'm sure I would have lost."
Su Lin smiled and said: "You're right, short cuts may help us advance faster but true strength comes from hard work and practice.
Asura replied, "That's why I want you to have this. It will make it easy for you to break through to the third stage of the spiritual realm. And I know you will not completely depend on it and will continue to practice and train so that your battle efficiency will not decrease."
Su Lin thought for a moment and said, "Thank you Asura, I appreciate the gift. You're right that this plant could help me advance to the next level. But I must earn my breakthrough through hard work, not shortcuts."
Asura smiled. "I knew you would say that. You have always focused on self-improvement through effort, not luck or chance."
Su Lin nodded. "True strength comes from within. Gifts and good fortune are fleeting."
"Wise words as always," Asura said. "In that case, keep the plant safe for now. If you feel you need a boost at some point, use it wisely. But continue your cultivation and training so you can ultimately break through on your own merit."
Su Lin accepted the spiritual plant. "Thank you, Asura. Your thoughtfulness and trust means a lot."
Asura replied, "That is what friends are for." He bade Su Lin farewell and headed off, determined to close the gap through his own efforts.
When Asura left, Rose said, "Sister Lin, you didn't use your full power even after lowering your cultivation base and you went easy on him. Don't you think, he will underestimate your capabilities?"
"No, he will not," Su Lin replied and added, "He is not a fool. He also knew I didn't do my best and it was just a spar. My motive was to help him control his spiritual energy better. And next time we spar, I will not hold back, and he knows this."
Rose nodded as she understood but suddenly she said teasingly, "Oh! And I thought you wouldn't be able to see Asura get hurt by you so you went easy on him."
Su Lin retorted while blushing "You think I will not hurt him because I like him? Then you are a fool. If it is for his benefit I will hurt him if required."
Rose smiled mischievously. "Alright alright, I'll stop teasing you." She knew Su Lin had romantic feelings for Asura.
"That ignorant person doesn't know how lucky he is to have you," Rose said sincerely.
While Su Lin and Rose were gossiping, Asura was on his way to the Spirit Technique Pavilion which was also present inside the Royal College just like the Battle Skill Pavilion. On the way, he thought:
"Su Lin went easy on me so that I could learn how to control my spiritual energy more accurately. If it was a real fight and not just a spar, there was a high chance I would have lost the fight even though she had the same cultivation level as me."
Asura realized that there was a big gap between him and the geniuses of the Xiao Sect who were on the merit list. He would have to work incredibly hard if he didn't want to lose to them at the same cultivation base.
This spurred Asura on with determination. He knew he had a long journey ahead of him to narrow the gap and achieve his goals. But with the new spiritual technique he was going to find, it would undoubtedly increase his strength and greatly reduce the gap between him and those geniuses.
His spiritual space was not normal, and with the right technique to ignite his potential, Asura was convinced he could soon catch up. The new technique would act as a catalyst, accelerating his cultivation and strengthening his spiritual energy.
Asura walked purposefully towards the Spirit Technique Pavilion, his thoughts focused and his step steady. He could almost feel the power of the undiscovered technique waiting for him, ready to fuse with his spiritual space and transform him into someone who could challenge even the greatest talents of the Xiao Sect.
The Spirit Technique Pavilion was located in the eastern courtyard of the Royal College, hidden away from plain view. Asura made his way there, excitement building with every step.
The pavilion consisted of a large circular hall with many alcoves along the walls, each containing an ancient scroll or artifact. The spiritually attuned objects emitted faint glowing mists that filled the air with possibilities.
Asura walked slowly through the pavilion, scanning the alcoves for anything that might help him achieve his goal. Some of the scrolls held meditation techniques, some contained complete detail on cultivating one's specific spiritual attack. But Asura was after something more potent - a combat technique befitting his ambitions.
He had passed several dozen alcoves when he saw it - a simple wooden box nestled in a dark corner.